Adhesives

An adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. Some modern adhesives are extremely strong, and are becoming increasingly important in modern construction and industry. more...

Home
Art
Bead Art
Candle & Soap Making
Ceramics, Pottery
Decorative, Tole Painting
Drawing
Embroidery
Floral Crafts
Framing & Matting
General Art & Craft Supplies
Adhesives
Blown Eggs
Button Making Machines
Containers, Storage
Craft Bells
Craft Displays
Feathers
Foam, Styrofoam
Glue Guns
Gourds
Holiday Craft Supplies
Metal & Tin Pieces
Other Art Supplies
Pine Cones
Plaster
Raffia, Wire & Cord
Wine Corks
Wooden Pieces
Glass Art Crafts
Handcrafted Items
Leathercraft
Metalworking
Mosaic
Painting
Paper Crafts
Ribbon
Rubber Stamping & Embossing
Scrapbooking
Sewing
Shellcraft
Woodworking
Yarn

History

The first adhesives were natural gums and other plant resins. Archaeologists have found 6000-year-old ceramic vessels that had broken and been repaired using plant resin. Most early adhesives were animal glues made by rendering animal products such as the Native American use of buffalo hooves. Native Americans in what is now the eastern United States used a mixture of spruce gum and fat as adhesives and as caulk to waterproof seams in their birchbark canoes. During the times of Babylonia, tar-like clue glue was used for gluing statues. Also, Egypt was one of the most prominent users of adhesives. The Egyptians used animal glues to adhere tombs, furniture, ivory, and papyrus. Also, the Mongols used adhesives to make their short bows. In Europe in the Middle Ages, egg whites were used to decorate parchments with gold leaves. In the 1700s, the first glue factory was founded in Holland, which manufactured hide glue. Later, in the 1750s, the British introduced fish glue. As the modernization continued, new patents were issued by using rubber, bones, starch, fish, and casein. Modern adhesives have improved flexibility, toughness, curing rate, temperature and chemical resistance.

Categories of adhesives

Natural adhesives

Adhesives, from inorganic mineral sources, or biological sources such as vegetable matter, starch (dextrin), natural resins, animal skin, and bioadhesives

Synthetic adhesives

Adhesives based on elastomers, thermoplastic, and thermosetting adhesives.

Drying adhesives

These adhesives are a mixture of ingredients (typically polymers) dissolved in a solvent. Glues such as white glue, and rubber cements are members of the drying adhesive family. As the solvent evaporates, the adhesive hardens. Depending on the chemical composition of the adhesive, they will adhere to different materials to greater or lesser degrees. These adhesives are typically weak and are used for household applications. Some intended for use by small children are now made non-toxic.

Contact adhesives

Contact adhesive is one which must be applied to both surfaces and allowed some time to dry before the two surfaces are pushed together. Some contact adhesives require as long as 24 hours to dry before the surfaces are to be held together. Once the surfaces are pushed together the bond forms very quickly, hence it is usually not necessary to apply pressure for a long time. This means that there is no need to use clamps, which is convenient.

Read more at Wikipedia.org